This Is Home
by Silvercrystal
Summary: 5 years after leaving the gang find themselves faced with the issue of returning to Roswell. Pairings are Max/Liz, Michael/Maria & Isabel/Kyle. Title may be changed in the future. First chapter is short! Feedback is appreciated.


**_Liz Parker's Journal_**

_No going back. We'd all decided it would be the best way the day we left. For the safety of our families and ourselves we had to be invisible. But sometimes you have to go back before you can move forward, right? You have to face the demons of the past before you can begin a new life._

_The truth is that we're never going to be truly safe from the government; people within it are always going to want to through us into a white room and take us apart. The closest we'll ever get to safe is the illusion in which we live now. New York is the perfect place to get lost but how long before you lose yourself?_

_It's funny how things work out. We wouldn't have even thought about going back home if it hadn't been for the accident. But it happened and now we're on our way back. Life could change in ways we'd never have imagined but something tells me it's the right thing to do. I've always followed my heart, why stop now?_

_It's time to put it to the test. Time to take back our lives._

* * *

"Are you sure about this?" Max Evans wrapped his strong shoulders around his distraught wife. It wasn't easy being so far away from family and hearing the news she had just heard.

Liz leaned in closer, closing her eyes and taking a deep breathe. "I just keep thinking, what if this is my last chance to see him? I can't let this be the way he remembers me, just pages in a book. We'll be ok Max."

He gently pulled away and looked down into her chocolate brown eyes, the worry she felt was obvious. Max knew he wouldn't be able to live with himself if anything happened to Mr Parker and he could have done something to stop it, or at least give Liz one last chance to talk to him. He knew it was risky, and possibly life threatening, but it had been almost five years since they'd left Roswell and from what he'd heard from Kyle, who'd heard it from his father, the government had long given up the search for the six of them. Even so, Max was cautious, particularly when it came to those he loved.

"Maxwell?" It had been natural instinct to call the others once Liz had suggested going back. It was a decision that was going to change all their lives, not just his and Liz's.

"In here Michael." Max had barely said the words when Michael walked in on his own. Dressed in a grey suit, Michael barely resembled the person he was five years ago. He had a life now; he'd surprisingly embraced the move away from Roswell and, thanks to a fake id, had found a job in an accounts firm.

"Daddy! Wait for me!"

"ALEX GUERIN DO NOT RUN!"

"Alex, listen to your mother." It hadn't been long after leaving Roswell that Michael and Maria had finally reunited. A year later they were parents and much to everyone's surprise they dealt with it better than any of the others thought they could have. Maria had been completely freaked throughout her entire pregnancy, the constant Tabasco with mint ice cream cravings didn't help but the birth had been normal and so far no active powers had registered in Alex.

Alex ran and grabbed hold of Michael's hand. He looked up and gave him his best puppy dog eyes, which he'd inherited from his mother, unlike the rest of his features which were Michael down to the spiky hair. Alex knew he had his dad wrapped round his finger. "Sorry daddy."

Maria walked into the room, her recently dyed black hair falling in front of her face. "No ice cream on the way home." She gave Alex her most stern looking before walking over to the couch and taking a seat next to Liz. Taking Liz's hand she intertwined their fingers, squeezing it lightly. "What's the plan?"

Before Liz had a chance to answer Kyle and Isabel walked into the room. Isabel looking as picture perfect as always, dressed as formally as Michael. Kyle held on to her hand tightly. It was an almost strange relationship between them but Max had chosen not to question it. It was risky bringing anyone else into the fold, Kyle and Isabel had always had a connection and even though Kyle knew that Isabel was still in love with Jesse he took care of her and that's all a brother could ask for.

Squeezing Liz's shoulder gently Max stood up, making clear how serious the situation was. He brushed his hair away from his eyes before beginning to speak. "We're going home." He looked down and motioned to Liz "Liz and I." He paused for a second to take in everyone's reactions. Isabel looked a little distraught, Michael was unreadable. "It might seem a little risky. Completely stupid even, but Liz needs this and I need to be able to give her this."

"But Max, the FBI is after us. Just because we've been away for a while doesn't mean they'll have given up the search." Isabel took a step towards her brother, her hand shaking slightly as she spoke. "They could throw you back in that horrible room. They could do things to you that are even worse than the last time."

It wasn't a decision he had made lightly. Max knew the risk of capture existed and he'd tried to rationalise his decision but when it came to matters of the heart he knew that no such thing as a rational decision existed. "We're not asking you to come with us Isabel but we have to do this." He looked towards Michael as he addressed the rest of them "You all have lives here. Michael, Maria you have Alex to worry about, we don't expect you to come with us."

"Maxwell, we've got your back." Michael looked over at Maria for confirmation as he spoke.

She smiled at him, knowing already that he would go with Max no matter what. "We'll come with you. It's time Alex saw home and I'm sure he has a nana that is desperate to meet him." Maria had written to her mother a few times but never left a return address. Not that she'd explained the entire alien situation but she'd said enough to keep her mother in the loop.

"Thank you." Liz whispered softly to Maria. Doing this without Maria would have been more difficult than it already was.

"You and me babe, inseparable, remember?" Maria hugged her friend. She knew if she'd been the one to hear about her mother being involved in an almost fatal accident on the news then she'd be in far worse condition than Liz was. According to most news reports the fact that Mr Parker was alive was a miracle. Sheriff Valenti had called them and reassured them that he would be fine but even then Liz knew that Valenti would do whatever he could to protect them, even if that meant lying to them.

Max walked towards his sister, taking hold of her still shaking hand and tried to reassure her that they were doing the right thing. "We'll be extra careful. We'll travel in groups that they'd never expect. Michael and Maria have Alex; they're not expecting a family so they'll be fine. Liz and I can travel separately and meet up in Roswell. We'll stay in touch with you every step of the way."

"No. You can't go on your own." Isabel turned around to look at Kyle. He'd already mentioned the possibility of returning to Roswell to her and she knew that he wanted to go back to see his dad. Who was she to stand in the way of him seeing the only family he had other than her and their friends? "I'll go with Liz. Kyle can go with you. If we do this we do it together."

"I'm with Iz." Kyle spoke up from where he was standing. Getting time off from work wouldn't be too hard. The guys at the fire station were always calling him a workaholic; at least he could prove them wrong now.

"It's decided then." Max felt a little safer knowing they were going to do this together. It made him feel safer knowing everyone was going to be within distance. Having Iz and Kyle in New York while the rest of them were hundreds of miles away would have driven him nuts.

From where she sat Liz looked around the room. Her friends, no, her family, that's who these people were. She'd known from the start that they'd be going into this together and their undying devotion to one another proved her right again. It was time to face the past and even with all the danger Liz could feel the real Liz Parker awakening.


End file.
